Hospital chain: Jersey City ambulance contract should be shared

Local hospital chain CarePoint Health and Bayonne-based McCabe Ambulance should share Jersey City's ambulance contract with Jersey City Medical Center, a CarePoint official proposed in a letter sent yesterday to Mayor Steve Fulop and members of the City Council.

Peter Kelly, formerly Christ Hospital's CEO and now a CarePoint senior adviser, says in the letter that Fulop and the council should "embrace the strengths of both CarePoint and JCMC." The partnership would mean an "incredible value" to Jersey City residents, Kelly writes.

"Neither of us could serve the entire population of Jersey City without the other," Kelly told The Jersey Journal last night. "All we want is what's good for Jersey City residents."

In the letter, Kelly suggests the city convene a meeting between officials from the city, CarePoint and JCMC to discuss the proposal, and proposes an independent entity should monitor to review dispatch activities.

Responding to Kelly's letter, Mark Rabson, spokesman for JCMC, told The Jersey Journal yesterday that sharing the contract would not be best for Jersey City. He declined to respond to Kelly's suggestion that the two entities sit down with city officials to discuss CarePoint's proposal.

"We are proud of our fine long-term reputation of serving all of the residents, commuters, and visitors to our Jersey City community," Rabson said in an email. "As such, we expect to continue to serve the entire city as its EMS provider well into the future."

Kelly called Rabson's response "appalling" and "self-centered."

Last year, the city issued a request for proposal (RFP) seeking bidders who wanted to provide ambulance services for the city, services JCMC has provided for over 100 years. Fulop announced in December that he wanted to award the contract to CarePoint, leading to sharp outcry from JCMC supporters who said they saw no reason for the change.

The City Council was scheduled to vote on awarding the contract on Dec. 18, but the city pulled the item from consideration at the last minute, with city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill saying the city asked the federal Office of the Inspector General to review CarePoint/McCabe's proposal. JCMC has continued providing ambulance services for the city on a month-to-month basis until a final decision is made.

Last month, Morrill told The Jersey Journal that the city called off the OIG's review and planned to restart the bidding process by issuing a new RFP.

At the time, sources told The Jersey Journal that the city had been floating a plan similar to the one proposed by CarePoint yesterday: dividing the city in two and awarding the contract both to CarePoint and JCMC.

A phone call seeking comment from Morrill on CarePoint's letter was not returned.